


Keeping Control

by batsofchaos



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity Blight-centric, Bisexual Luz Noceda, Canon Compliant, F/F, Lesbian Amity Blight, Lumity, One Shot, Post-Episode: s01e17 Wing It Like Witches, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsofchaos/pseuds/batsofchaos
Summary: In the afterparty for the Grudgby grudge match to end all grudge matches, Amity finds herself left alone with Willow for a few minutes and feels crushed by the silence. A lot has been left unsaid between them and the only thing left for her to do is say it.This story starts immediately following the events of Wing It Like Witches and runs concurrently to Agony of a Witch and Young Blood, Old Souls.Editing by Jetstream and FormerlyCommitted.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Willow Park, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne
Comments: 29
Kudos: 147
Collections: Good Lumity Fics, Lumity Fic Faves, Owl House Fics





	1. Part 1

Amity lifted her teacup to her mouth, then froze as Luz silently shushed them with a finger to her lips. Amity, Willow, and Gus quirked their brows, then followed Luz’s slow, careful gesture, glancing out to the center of the room.

King faced away from them, playing with his stuffed rabbit. Somewhere through the night, he’d changed out of his cheerleader outfit and dressed Francois in it instead. His shoulders shimmied back and forth as he moved the pom-poms in the rabbit’s paws, grumbling an internal conversation to himself.

They looked back at Luz. Luz pointed at Gus, then King, then held out a tiny sailor’s hat with a grin plastered on her face. Gus lit up and nodded. Luz slowly extended her hand, and Gus matched her pace to take it.

Hat passed off and the silence thick enough to cut with a knife, Luz cleared her throat. “So, Amity, how long do you have to have that cast on for, anyway?”

Halfway through a sip, Amity jumped and hiccoughed to keep from choking. “Whuh?” She caught sight of Luz jabbing her thumb in King’s direction, then pantomiming to go on. “Oh, erm, just until the bone fuses again.” She sighed and slumped her shoulders. “A week or two, they said.”

Luz furrowed her brow and looked back from Gus. “Wow, to heal a _broken bone?_ That’s _really fast_ compared to the human realm. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” She returned her attention to Gus, who had half-turned on the floor to face part of the way toward King, and gave him a double thumbs up. “Still, that’s no fun. Hope it gets better fast.”

Amity smiled and shifted in her seat. “Thanks,” she said. Luz’s attention stayed on Gus, who had his tongue stuck out in concentration. He lifted the hat up and inched forward, positioning it over King’s head. Amity fiddled with her teacup, feeling the silence fill up the room again, and pressed on, aiming for an unconcerned, conversational tone. “It shouldn’t be that long, I just need to be careful so it doesn’t fuse poorly. Keep it elevated, use the crutches, take my bone-knitting potions, that sort of thing. If it fuses wrong, they might have to break the bone and try again.” She let out another sigh. “Guess I’m gonna be hobbling around school for a while,” she grumbled darkly, then jerked and sat up straight. Her tone leapt up with her, turning cheerful, rushed, and dismissive. “Which is fine, don’t regret it at all, glad I could help!” She held her tea to her chest defensively and her eyes darted around the group of friends, measuring their expressions.

Neither Gus nor Luz reacted, with Luz watching on wide-eyed while Gus slowly lowered the hat down, and she shifted her attention to the other side of the couch. She studied Willow out of the corner of her eye and felt her stomach squirm. Willow gave her a small, brief smile, then refocused on Gus. Amity felt a pang of unease and took a sip of tea.

Luz gave an absent nod and fumbled with the tea set while she watched Gus. “Let me know if you need help carrying stuff,” Luz said off-hand. She held the teapot up over her cup, pouring a steady stream of tea to the point of overflowing onto the saucer.

“Thanks, Luz, I’ll— _Luz.”_ Amity whispered in warning. She reached forward and straightened the pot in Luz’s grip. Luz jumped and gave Amity a guilty smile. Amity went back into a normal tone. “I’ll keep that in mind, it’s nice of you to offer.”

“Oh, psh,” Luz waved her off, then focused back on the unfolding hat drama. “It’s … really … nothing.”

The tension grew ever thicker in the air, to the point where Amity was at a loss for keeping the conversational charade in motion. The three leaned forward on the couch, all gripping their cups and holding a breath. Beads of sweat ran down Gus’ brow and his arm trembled, inching downward, ever closer, King’s broken horn bobbing and weaving with his movements.

 _“Nyeh!”_ King squeaked and whirled around, whacking the hat out of Gus’ hand. “Stop that! The king of demons enlists in no one’s navy!” He pointed an accusatory claw at Gus. “Once my army has been amassed and overruns these wretched isles, it is _you_ who shall be enlisting in _my_ Navy! And you will rue the day you tried to behat the mighty King!” With a high pitched battle squeal, he ran out of the room, dragging Francois behind him. The pom poms rolled to a stop at the doorway.

“Aww,” Gus, Willow, and Luz whined in unison.

“So close!” Luz said, shaking her fists. “So _very_ close!”

Willow flopped back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest. “You almost had him, Gus.”

Amity fought against it, but cracked a smile and started giggling. She hid her mouth behind her hand. “You’ll get him next time.”

“If there _is_ a next time,” Gus lamented and shook his head. He brightened and sat up straight again. “Think if we made some cookies, he’ll forget and come back out?”

 _“King never forgets, and never forgives!”_ King shouted from a room in the back of the Owl House. _“… But he does accept offerings of cookies!”_

Gus gave a sly grin and got to his feet. “If we make enough cookies we could probably get him in a sailor _outfit_ before he notices.”

Luz sprung to her feet. “Oh my god, we got a _whole bag_ of chocolate chips in the pantry from the last garbage day!”

“What’s _chocolate chips?”_ Gus asked, sounding out the words carefully.

Luz’s excitement turned into a giddy squeal and she dragged Gus off toward the kitchen _“Oh my god, you guys have never had chocolate chips before!”_ She skidded to a halt at the entryway and looked back over her shoulder at Willow and Amity. “Hold down the fort, it’s authentic human cookie time!”

Gus’ worried voice drifted out of the kitchen as Luz prodded him in, “They’re not made out of authentic _human,_ right?”

The clatter of stoneware and utensils turned into a distant background noise as Amity sat on the couch, stock-still with hot sweat on the back of her neck and Willow in the corner of her eye. She swallowed the lump in her throat and felt her grip turn knuckle-white on her teacup. With the crashing and chatter from the kitchen, the silence should have been comfortable, there was no reason it shouldn’t be comfortable in Amity’s opinion. No reason at all.

Willow wrung the hem of her school uniform in her hands and took a sip of tea. Amity felt her insides squirm again, took a deep breath, and set her cup down.

“I …” Amity’s voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. Willow turned and looked at her with a welcoming, if guarded, expression. “I, uh, never did say I was sorry. For … lighting your mind on fire. And … for everything.” She bowed her head and closed her eyes. “I’ve tried to be better and … show … that I was sorry, but …” She bit her lip and chanced a peek at Willow again.

Willow’s expression was unreadable, a blank mask trained on Amity, free of anger or sadness, but also free of any emotion.

Amity took in a deep breath and steeled herself. “I didn’t actually say it. I’m sorry, Willow. I’m sorry for … everything. Everything that I put you through, everything with Boscha, and … all the time that I missed, when I _could_ have been your friend if I was better than I am.” As she spoke, her voice grew stronger and surer. Saying it out loud felt like she was tearing the squirming knots in her stomach out with her bare hands, but that meant the knots were _gone,_ and she felt better. She straightened and leveled her gaze on Willow’s blank expression. “I’m … not apologizing because I expect you to forgive me. I don’t think I’ve earned your forgiveness. I don’t know that I’ll _ever_ earn your forgiveness.” The rush of strength dwindled, and suddenly Willow’s expression didn’t look blank. Amity could read _every_ emotion, anything she could imagine, projected into Willow’s face, letting her cast judgment upon herself through Willow’s eyes. She felt herself faltering, shrinking back again, and she dragged her good leg up onto the couch and hugged it to her chest, looking away. “… I just want to be better than I am, and maybe … maybe be good enough to be your friend _for_ _real_ again.”

She felt the gentle, warm pressure of Willow’s hand on her elbow. Slowly, reluctantly, she lifted her gaze.

Willow smiled at her. A gentle, welcoming, small smile, a smile Amity remembered well from her own childhood. A smile reserved for quiet moments when they weren’t running around somewhere, making messes or getting into trouble, and could just enjoy each other’s company. Willow patted her elbow then took a sip of tea. “I accept your apology, Amity.”

Amity raised her eyebrows in surprise, then chewed her lip. “You don’t need to—”

“Accepting an apology is not the same as forgiving someone. You’re right, I’m … not sure that I’m ready to _forgive_ you yet, at least for all of it. What happened when we were children I can forgive.”

“You shouldn’t,” Amity said grimly. “I was too weak to—”

“You were _eight,_ eight-year-olds aren’t supposed to be strong, Amity. I can forgive you for that, and for not sticking up for me when you thought you couldn’t.” Her eyes narrowed to a stern glare as Amity started to protest again. “You. Were. _Eight._ It wasn’t your responsibility to stand up for me then.”

Amity flexed her jaw and looked away again, still hugging her knee to her chest. “… Luz would’ve stood up for you then,” she muttered, then winced at herself. She shook her head and straightened, looking at Willow over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, this is foolish, I shouldn’t be trying to poke holes in how charitable you are.”

Willow giggled and nodded. “You really shouldn’t.” Her smile faded a little and she let out a sigh. She leaned back into the couch and took a long sip of tea, letting the banging from the kitchen wash over the room for a moment. “You’re right that I haven’t forgiven you yet for my memories.”

Amity dropped her gaze.

“But I am working on it. You said you weren’t going to let Boscha or the others pick on me anymore, and you’ve kept that promise. For better and for worse.” She nodded at Amity’s cast. “It’s still fresh and we’re still working all this stuff out, and things aren’t ever gonna be like they were when we were kids again, no matter what you or I want.”

Sighing through her nose, Amity gave Willow a glum nod.

“But part of that’s because we _aren’t_ kids anymore.” Willow smiled and shrugged. “We can’t really pick up where we left off, and we can’t really start over, but we _already_ started something new. And I’m glad for that. I’m glad we’re friends again. _For_ _real_ friends.”

Amity loosened her grip around her leg and straightened, a half-smile spreading across her face. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.” Willow grinned and finished off her cup of tea. “We already were even before that grudgby match, but an earnest, heartfelt apology didn’t hurt.”

Amity snorted, then laughed and hid her mouth. “Oh, Titan, I _am_ going soft.” Willow giggled along with her, and she straightened out on the couch, letting the tension fall from her shoulders. A more comfortable silence fell over them for a few moments. “… It’s okay if you don’t ever forgive me, but I really do appreciate the second chance. I’m trying to be better than I am.”

“Oh, you’re already pretty good,” Willow said dismissively. “I don’t think you were ever really _bad,_ probably. You just worked at hiding being good for a long time.”

Amity fidgeted. “Wow. That … cut deeper than I expected it to.”

“You’ll get over it.”

Amity choked and giggled again.

“Believe it or not, I do know what it’s like, kinda. To get pushed around by your parents.” Willow let out a longer sigh and shook her head. “I wasn’t in the abomination track for so long because _I_ wanted to be there, you know. My parents wanted me there. I begged and begged for _years_ for them to let me change, but it wasn’t until Principal Bump talked to them that they actually did.”

Amity knit her brow and frowned, resting her chin in her hand. “That … I guess that _explains_ a lot, but … I mean, _why?”_

Willow shrugged. “I’unno. They never told me why. I was just … supposed to be in abominations. Thank _goodness_ Luz showed up when she did, or I’d still be trying to wash abomination mud out of my hair.”

They shared another laugh, then Amity’s eyes widened and she clapped her hand over her mouth. “… I never actually apologized to Luz for trying to get her dissected, either.” Willow laughed harder and covered her face. The two of them fought down the mirth, turning away from each other and taking deep breaths. The following silence felt even more comfortable than the one before. Amity poured herself another cup of tea, then filled Willow’s.

Willow took a drink and glanced over toward the kitchen. The clacks and clinks filled with idle chatter rose and fell in little waves from Luz and Gus, and Amity idly questioned just how long it took to make human cookies. Willow turned and gave Amity a measured look. Amity raised a brow.

“… So you and Luz, huh?”

Amity dropped her tea. She eeped and juggled the cup, splashing the front of her school uniform before catching it again and pinning it to her lap. “Wh—wha—n-no, I—” She felt heat radiate from her face as she wavered under Willow’s steady, amused gaze. After a moment, all the strength drained out of Amity and she slumped forward with a groan. “Is it really that obvious?”

“I don’t know about it being _that_ obvious,” Willow assured her. “I think I’m the only one who’s noticed so far. Though to be _completely_ honest, I’m kinda surprised that I’m the only one. Gus doesn’t really pay attention to that sort of thing, so that makes sense, but the fact that Luz hasn’t noticed is kind of a miracle.”

Amity groaned again, then took a deep breath. “You’re probably right. I’ve been … struggling, since after Grom.” She set her teacup down on the table and wiped at the damp spot on her cloak. “It was easier to stay in control before that,” she muttered.

Willow gave her a sagely nod. “You should tell her.”

Gripping her cloak until her knuckles turned white and clenching her jaw, Amity gave Willow a frightened look, like an animal caught in a cage. “You’re not gonna—”

“Of _course_ not,” Willow said in a soothing tone, cutting her off. “I just think you should.”

Letting her heart rate settle and slowly unclenching her muscles, Amity took a deep breath. “Why? Do you know if …?”

Willow gave her a pained smile and shook her head. “Luz hasn’t said anything to me one way or another about anything like this. I just think you should.”

“But _why_ do you think that?”

Willow’s expression turned quizzical. “Because I think it’d make you happy? Isn’t that a good enough reason? Luz _already_ makes you way happier than I’ve seen you since we were kids, and you’re driving yourself _crazy_ at the same time, imagine if you were _just_ happy.”

Amity let out a small smile and shook her head. “Yeah, but—”

“But nothing, that’s enough, or at least it _should_ be. And I don’t even mean that it’d make you happy _if_ telling her goes well because it’ll help you no matter what she says. You’ll never know how she feels until you ask, and even if it isn’t the way you _want_ her to feel, you’ll at least know. And it won’t be as scary as you think it’ll be.” Her tone dropped and grew more serious. “I … saw from the forest what Grom did to your note. That was supposed to be for Luz, right?” Amity nodded weakly. “I understand why you were scared, but I don’t think it would actually turn out the way it did with Grom.”

Amity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked over at the kitchen and briefly wondered if they were taking so long because human cookies required ritual sacrifice, or if her and Willow’s conversation had just felt like an eternity. She breathed out slow and steady, then looked back to Willow. “I know _for a fact_ that it wouldn’t turn out that way with Luz.” She tucked her hair back behind her ear and looked in the direction of the tea table, staring into the middle distance. “I maybe didn’t know how it would go up until then, but I knew afterwards. Luz saw the note, not who it was supposed to be for, but what it was, and her reaction was … to invite me to go to Grom with her as a friend. Because she didn’t want me to be alone. She was happy to ask.”

Despite herself, Amity smiled. She leaned back into the couch and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes. “Luz wouldn’t tear up the note. She’s too kind. She’d let me down as gently as possible and promise to be my friend no matter what, and probably, like, offer to take me on a _just friends_ date so I wouldn’t feel bad. Luz would never do anything to hurt me on purpose because that’s just who she is.”

Willow grinned and nodded. “Yeah.”

“It was … a lot easier to stay in control around her _before_ Grom.” She leaned forward and rubbed her mouth, staring off at nothing, feeling her insides squirm all over again. “… You’re right that I should just tell her. I know that. I’ve _known_ that. It’s just …”

“Scary,” Willow finished for her, then nodded. “I understand. It’s scary needing to open up and be vulnerable in front of somebody else. Especially when you have people in your life that punish you for being vulnerable.”

Amity frowned and straightened, searching Willow’s face. “… I … didn’t imagine your parents were like that, too.”

“Not my parents. Parents aren’t the only people who can make you feel bad for being weak.”

“… Oh.” She shrunk into herself. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I already accepted your apology.” Willow grinned. “Plus, I think, maybe all of that stuff’s behind me. I dunno, depends on Boscha, I guess. We’ll see.” She shrugged. “Anyway, the point I was making is that it’s asking a lot to put yourself out there like that, and I understand. But it’s Luz we’re talking about. It’s going to go fine, even if she turns you down. You don’t have to be scared.”

Amity let out a long sigh and nodded. “I know that, too. I wasn’t going to say ‘scary,’ though. It was scary _before_ Grom. I was going to say it’s _overwhelming.”_ She rubbed her face with both hands and gave the kitchen a furtive glance, dropping her tone lower. “I’ve … never felt this way before about anybody.” She rumpled and twisted the hem of her uniform between her fingers to keep her hands from shaking with nervous energy. “I thought I had crushes on … others.” Her cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat, muttering, “Mostly fictional characters,” quickly, before moving on. “But looking back on it, I think I just thought I did because I was _supposed_ to have a crush on them. Girls are supposed to think tall and mysterious boys are dreamy, y’know?”

Willow gave her a sly smile that made her want to fill the silence as quickly as possible. She coughed. “A-anyway, Luz isn’t the first _girl_ I’ve liked, I don’t think, but she is the first girl I _realized_ I liked, if that makes sense. And it’s been … a lot. To figure that all out. It’s been eye-opening, too, but still. It’s been a lot. It made things really confusing and I didn’t know what to think of Luz for a long time. I eventually worked my way through all those feelings, and … she … kept surprising me with just how sweet she is. And brave. And stupid. But mostly sweet. And … it all started to feel so much more _real._ Not just some crush on a mysterious character in a book, or someone at school I’ve never talked to who looks pretty, it’s just _Luz.”_ She let out a long breath and shook her head again. “I’ve never felt like this before.”

Willow gave her another sagely nod and put a hand on her shoulder. “That does sound like it’s a lot to try and deal with.”

“You’re … right, though. And I know you’re right. I’ve been meaning to tell her for a while. I mean, I was _going_ to tell her before Grom, but well …” She huffed. “I still am planning on telling her. Just … I don’t know when. Or how. When it feels right, I guess. I’m not afraid she’ll react poorly. I’m not even really afraid she’ll say no. I mean, I don’t _want_ her to say no, but I get this feeling sometimes from how she looks at me … it’s probably just wishful thinking.” She shook her head and sat back. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to force away the tension in her shoulders. “It just makes me feel so _powerless._ I have no control over any of this. I hate feeling out of control.” She gave Willow a half-smile and smoothed down her uniform. “I appreciate your advice, though, and … thank you, for listening to me about it. It feels good to get it all out of my head.”

“Any time, Amity. We’re friends now, and that’s what friends do, right?”

Amity grinned. “Right.” Her eyes widened and her jaw went slack. “Oh _wow,_ what is that _smell?”_ She clamped her jaw shut to keep from drooling as notes of butter, caramelized sugar, and some rich, sweet, nutty, radiant perfume tickled her nose. “Are those the _cookies?”_

“Surpriiiiiise!” Luz cheered, skipping out from the kitchen with a large platter. She slid to the center of the room and stood back from the tea table, chest puffed out in triumph. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but you can’t rush _perfection.”_

“Speaking of perfection,”Gus muttered, following Luz out of the kitchen at a subdued pace, “Eda’s gonna perfectly _kill you_ if she sees that mess we left.”

“Cleaning later, cookies now.”

“But we _were_ cleaning! The entire time they were baking! And it still looks like that! How is that even _possible?”_

“I _said_ cleaning later, cookies now! So cookies now!”

Luz held the platter out over the tea table. Amity looked over the mountain of cookies, which were unlike any she’d ever seen before. When someone said _cookie,_ the image that popped into her head was of crumbly, dry wafers dusted with sugar and spices, delicate, pale, perfectly circular, and paired nicely with a cup of tea. The human cookies looked molten and oozy, spreading out in lumpy golden ovals and sagging down over the plate. Each one was studded with little pockets of runny, dark brown goo, like tiny yolks in a bizarre sunny-side-up egg. The smell wafted in Amity’s face and she shivered.

“Go on, take one! Don’t eat it yet, I wanna see you all try one at the same time.” Luz said.

Willow forced a smile. “They look … interesting.” She gingerly took one and held it in her hands. It drooped like a ragdoll and she put it in her palm to keep it from falling apart.

Gus took one with a quizzical look and turned it end over end. “They should taste pretty good, considering what went into them. I still have no idea what the heck this _chocolate chips_ stuff is, and I helped make the things.”

Amity forced herself to take only one and swallowed the extra spit in her mouth. “They smell … um … amazing. They smell utterly amazing.” She clenched her jaw. “Can I eat it now?”

Luz held up hers and said, “On the count of three! One, two, three!”

They all bit into their cookies.

“… Oh my Titan,” Amity groaned. “Oh my _Titan.”_

Willow gave Luz a bewildered look. “Humans just _have_ this chocolate chips stuff? And eat _other_ things?”

“Can I have another one?” Amity and Gus asked at the same time.

Luz’s eyes glittered with mirth as she held her own untouched cookie. “Okay, first experiment seems to be a success, but further research is probably necessary, might be worth having Owlbert to pick up more chocolate next trip.”

“Luz, _please,”_ Gus pleaded, “Can I have _another one?”_

Luz giggled and nodded. “Knock yourselves out.”

Amity swung her attention back to the platter with her hand already reaching out, then stopped cold. King stood at the far end of the tea table, shoveling cookies into his mouth.

“King!” Gus shouted, grabbing him around the middle.

He gasped and sunk his claws into the table as Gus tried to pull him back. “No! My tribute! I knew it, this _was_ a trap! You’ll never get me in that sailor suit, never!”

“I don’t care about the sailor suit, _I just want the cookies!”_

King let go of the table and grabbed an armful of cookies. With the sudden lack of resistance, Gus toppled backwards and King rolled out of his grasp, scampering back into the hall. “Ha- _ha!_ Everlasting victory!”

Gus leapt back up and darted to the tea table, while Willow and Amity lunged forward from the couch. They froze again, hands hovering over the two remaining cookies on the plate. Their eyes darted back and forth between each other, alternating resolve and guilt.

Luz clamped a hand over her mouth, half doubled up with laughter, still holding her untouched cookie. “Oh _man,_ this is way too freaking much!” she howled. She swung back up to standing and sucked in a big breath of air. “Here, take mine, Amity, that way you each get another one.” She held her cookie out with a grin.

Willow and Gus didn’t need further invitation and snatched up the last two cookies, but Amity’s brows shot up and she shrunk back. “But … you didn’t get one at _all,_ and you _made_ them, I can’t just take yours.”

“Sure you can, because I’m _giving_ it to you, you’re not _taking_ it. I’ve had chocolate chip cookies before, I’m fine.”

“… Are you sure?” Amity felt her face grow warm, so warm she was sure the blush extended to the tips of her ears. “That’s … _so nice,_ Luz. Thank you.” She gingerly took the last cookie and bit into it, shivering at the taste again.

“Oh, _psh,_ it’s nothing, you’re still the wounded warrior here!” Her smile turned mischievous. “Besides … the second batch is almost done.”

A bell jingled from the kitchen and the three sat up straight, eyes wide. Gus scrambled to his feet and raced into the kitchen with Willow hot behind him as Luz burst into laughter again. A snort broke its way out of Amity and she burst into laughter alongside Luz, clutching what was left of her second cookie to her chest.

Luz flopped onto the couch next to Amity. “Holy cow, I am _definitely_ asking Owlbert to pick up more chocolate, this is the _best.”_

“Please do,” Amity giggled out, “This all _is_ very funny, but also I _really want_ more chocolate.”

Luz wiped her eyes and grinned at Amity. “Then I’ll get you some more chocolate. Promise.”

Amity’s face grew hotter.

“In fact, I’ll get you some more right now.” She sprung back to her feet and rounded the living room, calling out, “You two better not be eating _all_ the cookies, no fair if I don’t get at least _one!”_ She slipped into the kitchen.

Amity looked down at the last bite of her second cookie for a moment before eating it, then sucking the tips of her fingers, savoring the gooey, unctuous taste of chocolate. “… And you just _keep_ surprising me,” she mumbled to herself, looking toward the kitchen entrance, waiting for the trio to come back.

The trio of friends. _Her_ friends. She grinned and scooted forward, then refilled all the teacups scattered around the table. At the rate they were eating the cookies, she was pretty sure that everyone was going to _need_ the tea in a minute.

“… And please don’t eat all of them before you bring them back out,” she pleaded quietly to the empty room. “Please? I’ll even help you clean the kitchen.”

Amity froze as she heard a sharp noise behind her, then swung around, trying to not look guilty.

“Eh?” Eda said from the hallway. “What was that about cleaning the kitchen?”

Amity gulped.

Amity let out a long, slow breath as she lay back against her pillow and stared at the ceiling. An all-encompassing, bone-aching _boredom_ pinned her in place like a heavy blanket. “Uggghhhh,” she groaned. If she felt the least bit tired, she would’ve tried to sleep, but she felt like she overflowed with energy, enough to where she should be jittery. She could get up and walk around for a while, except she’d just taken a bone-knitting potion and had her leg elevated as high as she could get it in the sling to stave off the pins and needles. The bed held her captive for the rest of the day.

She let her gaze fall to the left, at the spilling out carnage of textbooks and homework covering her bedspread, all of it done, then checked, then _double-checked,_ then color-coded and alphabetized for optimal turning in at school the following day, then tossed into disarray with a war-cry of frustration at herself. She knew she could kill a few minutes straightening it up again. She closed her eyes and winced internally. She really _was_ going to clean up her homework just to have something to do, wasn’t she?

She straightened it out into a neat pile and twirled her finger. The books jittered, then flopped back down and she sighed. “Right. Stupid potion,” she grumbled, then carefully moved the piles by hand to the foot of her bed, out of her way. She glanced at the clock on her wall. It took less than two minutes.

“Uggghhhh …”

She rolled toward the right and glared at the stacks of books spilling off her bedside table. The closest row of spines all read out _The Good Witch Azura_ titles, but dozens more lay piled or scattered haphazardly. She knew she could read some more. Except reading was what she’d been doing for the past six hours.

 _“Uggghhhh!”_ she whined, slapping her fist into her bedspread. “Stupid leg! Stupid nothing to do! Can’t something just _happen?”_

As if on cue, her scroll flashed. With a grumble, she picked up, then furrowed her brow at the message. With a grunt, she rolled over and fished her crystal ball out from under her bed. She propped herself up and activated the ball.

 _“Perry Porter coming to you live from outside the emperor’s castle,”_ the ball crackled. _“Edalyn Clawthorne, known commonly as Eda the Owl Lady, has been captured and has been brought before the emperor.”_

Amity furrowed her brow and set the ball on her lap, crossing her arms over her chest. “Whoa, they actually caught her?” she muttered as the image flickered, switching over to the emperor’s assistant, Kikimora.

_“For the crime of attacking a coven leader and refusing to join a coven, Edalyn Clawthorne’s body shall be petrified in stone.”_

Amity gasped.

_“Today, sundown, at the conformatorium.”_

She hefted the crystal ball and brought it to her face, shaking it. _“What?”_

The image flickered back to Perry Porter. _“Today is a grave day for Bonesborough.”_

She shook the ball again and tossed it to the foot of her bed, turning the still footage of previous petrification subjects to static. “They can’t just _petrify_ her! What does she even _do_ that’s so bad!? She’s just—” Amity’s eyes widened. “Oh, Titan, _Luz!”_ She scrambled for the ball, tapping it until the image came back. 

Amity lay with the ball clutched to her stomach, feeling a rising panic as time suddenly felt the need to speed up, melting away the rest of the afternoon to bare moments while she flicked back and forth between different news anchors. As the sun began to set, she jittered with nervous energy.

Her eyes widened and she clutched her sheets in a death-grip when Eda’s monstrous form rose onto the platform.

Her jaw fell open when Lilith and King were tossed into the cage alongside Eda.

She stopped breathing when Luz rose on the platform.

As the group of outlaws soared off from the platform and all eyes trained on the emperor, Amity tossed the ball away again. She yanked her leg out of the sling, feeling fire dance up and down her ankle, and clawed her way up onto her crutch. She hobbled out of her room, down the stairs, out of Blight Manor, and across the grounds as fast as her legs would take her.


	2. Part 2

Amity’s breath hitched in struggling waves. She could taste acid in the back of her throat, all her limbs burned, and she felt light-headed. She knew the healers were going to have several choice words to say to her the following day, but she forced herself forward, winding through the forest on the outskirts of Bonesborough. The Owl House came into view, and her pace wavered as she sighed in relief. Lights shone through the windows, and a wave of unreality tickled her spine. It looked like nothing had happened. She hoped with all her heart that her impression was accurate.

As she approached, Hooty stretched out from the door to meet her. “I know that face!” he cheered. “What are yoooooooou doing here, Amity?”

She clenched her jaw and glared at Hooty. “What do you _think_ I’m doing here?” she grumbled, then coughed and cleared her throat, wishing she had something to drink. “Is everybody okay? What happened?”

“I dunno! Like anybody tells _me_ anything, hoot hoot!” he said in a chipper tone, then retracted back into the door, which sprung open.“Oh, _Luuuuz!”_ Amity heard him call, and she grumbled darkly as she limped toward the door.

She heard Eda’s voice from inside the house as she got closer. “Not now, Hooty, she’s helping! Have you ever tried cooking without using magic?”

“I eat a lot of bugs without using magic!”

Amity groaned as she got to the door, then stopped short, hesitating just at the threshold.

Eda groaned at the same time as Amity. “That’s very nice, Hooty, now pipe down, we’re busy!”

“Okay, fine, sheesh, but you should tell Luz that her friend, Amity’s here!” Hooty then slammed the door in Amity’s face and looked down. “Oh, hey, Amity!”

“Hooty …” Amity growled. The door swung open again and she stepped back.

“Amity?” Luz asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Luz!” She hopped forward and grabbed hold of Luz’s shoulder. “You’re okay! Thank Titan you’re okay. You are okay, right?” She shook Luz gently, sending herself off balance, and the crutch slipped on the grass. She bounced into the doorframe.

“Amity!” Luz grabbed her by the elbow to stabilize her. “Did you walk _all the way here?”_

She gave Luz a guilty smile. “It isn’t that far.” She tried to push herself back up straight against the door and felt a wave of pinpricks dance along her leg. She sucked in a breath.

“You’re still hurt!” Luz turned around and slung Amity’s arm over her shoulders, pressing their sides together and gripping Amity’s waist. They stepped together into the room, Luz serving as a much more stable crutch, though one that would probably make Amity’s face turn red if her ankle didn’t ache so much. “You’re hurt enough you couldn’t come on the field trip today, and I _know_ how much you were looking forward to that! You shouldn’t be doing stuff like this, what were you thinking?”

Amity looked at Luz sidelong, feeling her cheeks glow. “I …” she murmured. “I saw it all on the news.” She stopped and looked down at the floor. “… What was I supposed to do? Stay at home and wait until tomorrow? Just … go to sleep, not knowing if you were okay? Hold off until when—or _if_ —I saw you at school?” She raised her gaze and studied Luz carefully. “Is that what you would’ve done?”

Luz studied her back, her worried expression turning more pensive. “… I understand. C’mon, let’s at least get you sitting down.” They made their way carefully to the couch and Luz lowered her down. She stretched out her cast and rested it on the tea table, feeling a wave of relief as the tingling subsided. “There. Can I get you something? Do you need a drink? How about a leftover cookie?”

Amity felt the inside of her mouth scream for liquid and also start salivating at the thought of chocolate, and she shoved those desires aside. “I’m fine, are _you_ fine? It was such a jumbled mess on the crystal ball, what _happened,_ is everyone okay? Is—”

Eda poked out from the kitchen entryway, stirring a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. She managed to look both haughty and bored while covered in blotches of flour. “Will your friend be staying for dinner?” she asked in a deadpan. She gave Amity a flat look, one eye gold and the other silver.

Amity stared back in surprise.

Lilith slipped out of the kitchen beside her. “Of course she is, and we wouldn’t _dream_ of suggesting otherwise, now would we, Edalyn?” she said, pushing and prodding Eda back into the kitchen.

Amity’s jaw fell open as she saw Lilith’s matching mismatched eyes and shock of silver hair.

“Fine,” Eda grumbled, letting herself be pushed back into the kitchen, “but _you’re_ making her portion.”

Luz gave a weak chuckle and rubbed her elbow. “Yeah, a … _lot_ happened today. Everything’s okay, though, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Yeah. It’s …” A crash rang out from the kitchen and Eda drowned everything out in a stream of colorful swears. “… complicated. Listen, I’m gonna go help them finish cooking, then we’ll eat, and then I’ll tell you about all of it, ‘kay? But the short version is everybody’s alive, nobody can do regular magic anymore, and maybe I’m stuck here forever.” 

_“What!?”_ shouted Amity.

Luz chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Okay, that was a bad short version. The important part’s that everything’s okay for right now and everybody’s starving. I promise I’ll tell you the rest after dinner.”

Amity’s mind whirled, but she forced herself to take a deep, steadying breath and nodded. “Okay. Just so long as you’re okay.”

Luz hesitated, glancing at the kitchen, then gave Amity a warm smile and leaned in, hugging her around the neck. “Thanks, Amity. For coming to check on me. It means a lot. Really.”

Amity stiffened in the embrace, then shakily returned the hug. “Of course, Luz.”

Luz stepped back from the embrace, still beaming a grateful smile at Amity, then turned and headed into the kitchen. As the racket of banging cutlery picked up again, Amity let out a long breath and felt the tension she held in her chest ease out. She looked around the chaotic living room of the Owl House, letting the noise from the kitchen wash over her. The feeling of unreality unwound itself as she sat. Something had happened, but _something_ happened _every day,_ didn’t it? Life just kept going.

A pang of embarrassment struck her, and she muttered to herself, “What am I doing here?”

She knew _why_ she’d come. She watched the unfolding madness from her bed with mounting fear and anxiety, up to the point where it overflowed and drove her out of the house. She had to know that Luz was okay.

And Luz was okay, by all accounts. There were a lot of missing details that clawed at her curiosity, but _those_ could wait until later, if at all. It wasn’t like Luz owed her an explanation or anything. She had the answer she needed, and that ought to be enough.

The embarrassment grew hotter as she sat and stewed in her thoughts. Part of her wanted to slip out while everyone cooked, but the pure adrenaline that dragged her through the forest felt like it was running on empty and she could feel her leg throbbing inside the cast. She felt trapped, stuck in the role of an interloper with Luz’s family.

Luz’s weird, weird family.

Another string of expletives punctuated a crash, which was followed by Luz’s laughter and Lilith’s stern reproach. She was shocked at how natural it sounded to overhear, like Lilith’s voice had always been part of the banter. Maybe it always had been, even if Lilith hadn’t been around to say it.

Luz’s weird, weird, growing family.

Amity sighed and tried to settle back on the couch, hugging herself to have something to do with her hands. “You’re here,” she told herself, “because you lost control of things, and you still haven’t gotten it back.” She closed her eyes and centered herself, trying to shove away the mounting anxiety.

“When’s dinner!?” King shouted from the hallway, making Amity jump. “I’m starv—whoa, hey, Amity, when did you get here?”

She cleared her throat. “A couple minutes ago,” she mumbled. “I saw on the news …”

“Oh, yeah! Hooo boy, I feel bad for all the suckers watching that from a crummy ball, I bet it was _utterly horrifying_ if you weren’t close enough to hear and see everything that was actually going on!” He let out a hearty laugh and wiped his eye. “Good times.”

“Yes,” Amity agreed, trying to hold in a glare.

“Anyway, it was an _amazing adventure_ that you just _had_ to be there for, and anyone who wasn’t there totally missed out and will never truly understand it.” He yawned and stretched. “But now I’m hungry.” He turned and yelled at the kitchen. _“Eda!_ How much longer!?”

“I don’t know!” Eda yelled back, “How long does it _usually_ take to skin a demon and fry them alive?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. “If you wanted it to go faster, shouldn’t you be helping them?”

“Nah, I already baked today.” He pointed over at the corner of the room, where Amity noticed a tiered cake that something had exploded out of, like a ruptured egg sack. “What I _really_ want to be doing is complaining.”

“Shocking,” Amity muttered under her breath.

“Why aren’t _you_ helping, then, little miss _twirl my fingers and stuff happens?”_

Her face flushed and she looked down. “I would, but I took a bone-knitting potion earlier today.”

“Ahh, gotcha, no oomph ‘til tomorrow. Bet that makes getting around fun. Imagine how much it would’ve hurt if you _walked_ here!”

“Yeah. Imagine.”

“Ugh, why’s it still taking so long?” King sucked in air to yell again, but his complaints died in his throat as Eda stuck her head into the room.

“Pipe down, you overgrown rat, it’ll be another five minutes. Amity, any food allergies?”

She sat up straight. “No, ma’am.”

“Good, ‘cause we’re out of anti-shock potions and I’m not changing anything.” She looked back into the kitchen. “Luz, we’re about done, go entertain your guest, maybe figure out where you two are eating and get settled in there or something.”

Luz stepped out of the kitchen, now spotting her own splotches of flour that she slapped at. “Where _we’re_ eating?”

“Yeah, y’know, up in your room, out on the porch, in the armory, I don’t care.”

“Um. Okay?” Luz said, looking confused.

Eda’s grumpy frown curled into an affectionate smile and she ruffled Luz’s hair. “I know you’re still worried, but your friend’s _right there,_ and I’m fine.” Her smile faded and turned weary. “Plus Lilith and I have a lot of _catching up_ we still need to do, that’ll probably be better just the two of us.

“I concur,” Lilith said from the kitchen, her tone neutral and stoic.

Luz stepped away from Eda in Amity’s direction, but her frown deepened. “You’re not going to be _too_ hard on her, though, right? Because she _was_ trying really hard to help us.”

Lilith stepped out of the kitchen and Amity noted that she was the only one of the three that still looked immaculate. “I appreciate the show of support, Luz, but I’m afraid Edalyn is going to have some choice words to say to me, and that they will likely all be completely deserved.” She leveled a guarded look at her sister. “It’s for the best we have this conversation sooner rather than later.”

“You ain’t kiddin’,” Eda muttered, then stomped back into the kitchen, followed by Lilith.

Luz cleared her throat and let out a nervous chuckle as she rounded back to Amity and King. “Sorry, it’s a, ah, long story.”

Amity gave her a smile and nodded.

King let out a huff. “Is this gonna be one of your _spending time with friends_ things that I should make myself scarce for? Oh, who am I kidding, they always are. Least this one doesn’t try to put _hats_ on me.” King shook his head and stomped off to the back rooms of the house.

“Thanks for understanding, King!” Luz called after him, then turned back to Amity. “So, uh, you wanna eat in my room, I guess?”

“Sure, that’s fine.” Amity swung her leg off the tea table and grimaced as the tingling pain strengthened.

“Oh, no, none of that, _scoop!”_

Amity eeped as Luz swept her up off the couch. “Oh, Titan, this again,” she whispered under her breath, then said to Luz with too much enthusiasm and far too loudly, “You don’t have to carry me, I’m fine, really!”

“Oh, _psh!”_ Luz said. “Save it for the judge.”

“… The judge of what?”

Luz carried her without answering toward the hallway, then paused, wavering in place when Eda’s voice drifted back to them, sounding sharp and acidic. “Alright, fine, you want to have this conversation now, out with it, what do you have to say?”

Luz hesitated, with Amity in her arms, glanced at her with a look of guilt, then turned her head over her shoulder to listen.

“You’re the one who has the full right to say your piece right now, not me,” Lilith said, calm and low enough Amity had to focus to listen. “Everything is my fault, and my fault alone. I acted out of jealousy, pettiness, selfishness, and desperation at an age when I _should have_ known better, and then have spent every waking moment of my life trying to atone for that mistake, and, _and—”_ she said crisply, cutting off the start of a grumble from Eda, “every action I took was predicated upon a lie. A lie that you had already seen through.” Her tone dropped even lower, to where Amity could barely hear it. “… In our youth, when we had disagreements, you were usually right, and I always knew to trust you and your judgment on things. I wish I had remembered that. I … cannot make up for my mistakes, and I do not expect your forgiveness. All I can do is try to remember those lessons going forward.”

“… Well,” Eda grumbled, the sharpness missing from her voice, _“Admitting_ that I’m always right is a good start.”

Amity heard Luz let out a breath, then turn back toward the hallway. They shared a brief smile, then Luz carried her out of the room and toward the stairs. Amity faintly heard Lilith’s response of “I did say _usually,_ you know,” and both she and Luz giggled.

Luz brought Amity into her room, lingering just across the threshold. “Um … hmm,” she murmured, and Amity looked around. She’d been in Luz’s bedroom a scant few times before but hadn’t had much of a chance to really take it in, and she was struck by how it felt both cluttered and bare at the same time. Assorted chests lined the walls, serving as storage, tabletops, shelves, and staircases, with every surface littered with knickknacks and candles, and yet the center of the room held only a sleeping mat over a rug. There was no denying for Amity that the odds and ends cluttering the room were unmistakably Luz’s, but the room still gave the impression that Luz was camping there. A transitory arrangement, one that could be changed by simply rolling up the mat and walking away.

Luz shifted weight from one foot to the other, then slowly righted Amity, letting her settle on her good leg and lean up against the door jamb. “Lemme just … make some room.” She crossed over to a chest in the far corner and pushed the contents littering its lid to the floor. She dragged the lone bedside table over to the front of the chest, then hurried back to Amity. She positioned herself on Amity’s bad side.

Amity felt her cheeks warm up as Luz slid an arm around her waist. She cleared her throat and gripped Luz’s shoulders, letting herself be walked over to the chest. She sat down and turned until she could splay her cast across the length of the lid. Luz scooted the table in front of her, then went to a different corner of junk. She eventually selected a squat barrel and dragged it across the floor. “This’d be easier,” she grunted, snagging against and muscling the barrel over the uneven floorboards, “if I had a real bed.” She got the barrel into place on the other side of the table, straight across from Amity’s position on the chest. “I could just sit on that. Probably time to get one of those,” she muttered, seemingly to herself. “Food should be done by now, be right back.”

“Luz?” Amity said, stopping Luz mid-spin toward the door. “Thank you—for helping me up.”

“Of course!”

“And also,” she called again, halting Luz again, “I just want to say that you don’t have to tell me about today.”

Luz opened her mouth, closed it, then raised an eyebrow.

“I came over because I was so worried about you that I couldn’t stand to wait, but, I mean …” She gestured helplessly at Luz. “You said it already, you’re _fine,_ everything’s fine, at least fine enough to where I don’t have to worry about you. And that’s enough, I don’t want to pry into anything that isn’t my business. I imagine today was hard, and if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Luz’s confusion blossomed to a smile, and after a brief pause, she rounded the table and pulled Amity into a hug. “You’re the best, Amity.”

Amity felt her blood-pressure jump off the charts.

“Better’n I am, anyway, if it was me I’d be _dying_ to know what happened and would probably start foaming at the mouth trying to hold back questions.” She giggled as she pulled away, letting Amity try and figure out how to breathe again. “But don’t worry, I wanna talk about today, if only to get it all out of my head. Lemme just go grab dinner first, if that’s okay?”

Amity nodded, hearing her stomach rumble. “Yeah, that’s more than okay. Uh, since I spent all day watching the news, I _maybe_ forgot to eat lunch.”

“Oh man, you, too?” Luz grinned, holding her stomach, and they both burst into giggles. “Alright, well since our table is booked, two plates of don’t-pass-out dinner coming up, Ms. Blight,” she said, falling into a bizarre, snooty-sounding accent that Amity had no frame of reference for, then turned and hurried out the door. After a few moments, Amity heard Luz’s footsteps on the stairs and she returned to the room carting two plates and some glasses of water, which she plonked down on the bedside table.

After downing half the glass in a single glug, Amity looked at the plate of food and raised her eyebrows. “Wow, you made _spaghetti_ without magic?”

“Don’t look at me, it was Eda’s idea. Though she said it was my fault she was craving it, for some reason.” Luz shrugged and sat down on the barrel. “The noodles are maybe a little weird, but it should taste good.”

Amity picked up her fork and coiled a bite full of noodles on the tines. The noodles were indeed lumpy and uneven in a way that Amity wouldn’t expect, but as she took a taste, she could tell they’d been made with a winning recipe. She dove into her plate with enthusiasm.

Luz slurped down a long rope of noodles loud enough to scandalize Amity’s parents, then let out a sigh of satisfaction. “So anyway,” she said between mouthfuls, “you know about Eda’s curse, right?”

Amity looked at Luz wide-eyed with a mouth full of spaghetti. Apparently, they shared different definitions for _after_ dinner. She chewed and swallowed as quickly as she could manage, and choked out a wavering, “Yeah?”

Luz filled her in on the day as they ate, starting from her decision to go along on the trip to the emperor’s castle and continuing through every twist and turn. Amity sat enraptured, almost forgetting to eat as she listened, while Luz shoveled in food and talked around it. Amity gasped over Luz’s capture, shook with anger over the duel between Lilith and Eda, turned thoughtful over Lilith’s about-face, and stared in ashen horror as Luz described her fight with the emperor.

“In the end, there was just … nothing I could do. I did get a lucky shot in. Look, see?” She fished a small, golden shard out of her pocket and held it up for Amity to see. “I broke his mask. He isn’t, like, invincible. He’s just … really, really, _really_ strong. If he wanted me and Eda dead, he could’ve had it, but he didn’t really _care_ enough to even want that. In the end he wanted to trade me something for Eda, so I gave in.” She smiled humorlessly and slipped the shard back in her pocket, then set her empty plate down on the table. “And blew it up.”

Amity stared at her, not sure what to say, if anything.

Luz sighed and leaned back on the barrel, stretching out her back. “Then we flew home, and Lilith split the curse between her and Eda with some sort of sharing spell, so both of them are still witches but can’t use magic anymore, and then we started cooking. And then you showed up.”

“Wow,” Amity forced out. She furrowed her brow. “Wait, she cast a _shared pain_ spell? On a _curse?”_

“Yep.”

“Wow. I knew something was different when I saw her on the news, and there was that apology downstairs, but she really _has_ changed.” Amity shook her head in bewilderment. “I … kinda … stopped really looking up to Lilith after the whole making me cheat during the magic duel thing she did to me, I thought if she was going to use someone like me as a tool like that, I had no reason to respect her.”

“Yeah, fair.”

“Guess it’s all more complicated than that, though.” Amity sighed and shook her head. “… Wow. Your day was … _not_ easy.”

“No,” Luz said with a giggle. “I lived through it, though, and so did everyone else. Can’t really ask much more than that.” Luz rubbed the back of her head and turned away, her gaze lingering on the window.

Amity frowned as she picked at what was left of her dinner. The dregs of her appetite soured in her stomach and she set the fork down, giving Luz a guarded look. “… You … um … downstairs you mentioned something about … being stuck here?”

Luz smiled humorlessly again, turning back to Amity before looking down. “Belos wanted me to trade Eda for the portal back to the human realm. I gave it to him and blew it up to keep him from having it. I … don’t know if I’ll ever see my mom again.”

“… Luz.” Amity held up her hand, reaching out toward Luz in a useless gesture, then let her arm fall to her side. “I’m sorry, Luz. Is … does Eda know another way back?”

Luz shrugged and gave her a strained smile. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. And I don’t think anyone else does, either. Belos has been after Eda for a long, long time because he wanted her portal. If there was another way back, I think he’d have gone after it instead of Eda _years_ ago.”

Amity closed her eyes and let out a long breath, leaning against the wall. “If … anyone on the isles can help get you back home, it’s going to be the Owl Lady, Luz. You’ll figure out a way to get back. _We_ will. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Amity,” Luz said quietly, still looking out the window. A long silence stretched out before Luz turned back to Amity, hugging herself around the middle and looking down at the table. “Is … am I a bad person for feeling kind of relieved, too?”

“You’re not a bad person, Luz,” Amity said automatically, then furrowed her brow. “But what do you mean by that?”

A ghost of a smile touched Luz’s expression for a moment, then she shrunk in on herself more. “I … talk a lot about _stuff_ back in the human realm, but I haven’t told you a ton about what things were really _like.”_ She let out a long breath and straightened up, meeting Amity’s gaze again. “I … didn’t really fit in back with other humans.”

Amity gave her an amused grin.

Luz chuckled and waved her off. “Okay, okay, I _know_ I’m a weirdo and don’t really _fit in_ anywhere, but I do a _way_ better job sorta fitting in here than I ever did back there. I have friends here. People like me.”

Amity shifted on the chest, giving Luz a look of confusion. “Of course people like you.”

“Well, yeah, that’s what I’m saying, people like me _here._ Nobody liked me back in the human realm. I never had friends. I always got in trouble at school. Barely anybody would even _talk_ to me.” She shrugged and looked down again. “I’m weird, and I read a lot, and nobody ever got my jokes or thought anything I ever did was cool. And … I love my mom, and I know she loves me, but she didn’t really _like_ me, either. Not _me._ She wanted me to be someone else. Someone who fit in.”

Amity held silent and watched Luz with a worried expression.

Luz straightened again, running a hand through her hair. “The reason I’ve been here all this time, the reason I could _stay_ here without it being a problem, is because my mom thinks I’m at a summer camp that was supposed to make me act normal. She threw out my Azura book and was gonna put me on a bus to go get made into a normal human. But I don’t—” she huffed, then slammed her fist on the table, making Amity jump. Their eyes met and all the unsurety and vulnerability was gone from her expression. “I don’t want to be _normal._ I _never_ wanted to be normal, I _like_ myself, and I like the stuff that I like, and nobody could see that, nobody _cared_ that I was happy being me. Not even my mom.”

“Luz …” Amity whispered.

“I love my mom, and I miss her, and I know she loves me, too, but … the human realm isn’t my home and it never was. Here, _this place_ is my home, it’s the place I’m supposed to be, where I can fit in by _not_ fitting in. I love it here, and I don’t want to leave. Before all this mess today, I already knew that after this summer ended and I had to go back _there,_ I was gonna come back _here_ as soon as I could. And … I wasn’t ready to go back, even knowing I was gonna have to. A summer isn’t enough. Every day here I felt like I was running out of time to spend with Eda and King, or learn _real actual magic_ at Hexside, or hang out with Gus or Willow or … or you, Amity. I’ve never _had_ real friends before, and the thought of having to leave you all here when I’d just gotten you, it …” Luz wiped at her eyes and looked away again. 

Amity wrung the hem of her clothes in her fingers, holding silent and waiting for Luz.

After a moment, Luz let out a long breath. “I’m … gonna find a way back to the human realm. I can’t just … forget my mom. She’s going to be so worried when I don’t come home at the end of the summer and I don’t want her to go through that, I want her to know I’m safe, and … and that I’m okay the way I am. That she doesn’t have to worry and that I don’t have to be _normal.”_ She looked back at Amity. “But then I’m staying here. Even if she doesn’t understand, even if she thinks I need to be normal, even if she tries to _stop me,_ I’m staying here. Does … does that make me a bad person?”

Amity held Luz’s gaze, feeling her heart breaking and welling up at the same time, nervous energy and a calm peace fighting for control of her body. She gave Luz a pained smile. “I guess that’s something you, me, and Willow all have in common,” she said quietly. “Our parents want us to be someone we’re not.” Luz frowned and Amity straightened up, smoothing out her clothes. “Even if it waspossible for you to be a bad person, I don’t think feeling that way makes you one. If it _was_ possible. Which I don’t think you can be.”

Luz flashed a lopsided grin and rolled her eyes. “Oh, c’mon, of course it’s possible for someone to be bad.”

“Yeah, for _someone,_ but not for you, because you’re too kind for anyone anywhere _ever_ to think that of you.”

Luz chuckled. “Knock off this whole buttering me up thing, I remember what you thought of me at first.”

“Wh-what does butter have …? Never mind. I’m not just saying things because I want you to feel better or something, I legitimately don’t think anyone who _actually knows you_ could possibly think that of you, and … this argument is stupid and I can’t believe you actually pulled me into it.”

Luz snorted, then covered her mouth, then both she and Amity fell into giggles. “Admit it, Blight!” she forced out. “I could be awful, you don’t know!”

“Never!” She covered her mouth and reigned in her laughter as best she could. It eventually tapered off and they both shared grins.

“Sorry,” Luz said, “you were trying to be serious and I ruined it.”

Amity shook her head. “It’s fine, and honestly that part doesn’t matter, because I _still_ understand why you want to come back here. Even putting aside the fact that you’re my friend, too, and I like you and want you stay because I’d miss you if you had to leave,” she felt her cheeks coloring, but forced the butterflies away and kept going, saying, “I _know what it’s like_ to still love your parents while knowing that they want you to be somebody you’re not. I know _exactly_ how that feels.” She felt her blood run cold and hugged herself around the middle. “You … you saw. In Willow’s memories …”

Luz winced and nodded, all of the mirth drained out of the room again and her attention focused solely on Amity.

“I gave in and _let them_ direct my life. They didn’t even have to _force me_ to be what they said was normal, I just let them do it. For years. And it made me miserable. I fought, and scraped, and worked _so hard_ to try and fit what they wanted me to be, and I hated _being me._ I drifted through life day to day being this … ghost of a witch, doing what I was supposed to do, saying what I was supposed to say, being around the sorts of witches I was supposed to be around, until … until I met you, Luz.” She smiled softly and tucked her hair behind her ear, not meeting Luz’s eyes. “And I’m not going back, either. I still love my parents, too, and know that they love me and are just trying to do what they think is best, but the fact is … they’re wrong. They’re wrong about me. The same way Willow’s parents were wrong about which track was best for her.” She met Luz’s gaze. “And the same way your mom is wrong about you.”

Luz looked down, her cheeks coloring.

“I don’t really know what _normal_ means for a human, or whether that’s what you are or not, but I do know that what you _are_ is a great person. A wonderful person.” Amity felt her own face grow hot again, and she shifted on the chest in discomfort, looking away. “And that even if you _did_ decide to stay back in the human realm, you’d always have a home here. So no. I don’t think it makes you a bad person.”

“… Amity …” Luz murmured, then shook her head slowly. “That’s, like, some of the nicest stuff anyone’s ever said to me.”

Her cheeks grew warmer and she looked down, twiddling her fingers together. “Then people ought to be nice to you more often because I was just being honest.”

“… You’re a wonderful person, too. And _no,”_ she said, cutting Amity off, “we’re _not_ having _that_ argument.”

“But—”

“I said _no,_ we’re not. I know things have been hard for you, and you feel bad about stuff you did in the past and how you used to be, but all that stuff isn’t who _you_ are any more than being a _normal human_ is who _I_ am. You might have thought you just gave in to what they wanted, but you couldn’t _really_ hide yourself, not all the way. Why do you think I kept reaching out to you, even after we had that disaster first meeting? It was because I could tell there was more to you than all that, and that you deserved for someone to at least _try_ to be there for you. And was I wrong?”

Amity felt hot and embarrassed for entirely different reasons and pressed back against the wall, trying to crumple in on herself, refusing to meet Luz’s gaze. “… I really hurt Willow. I spent a _long time_ hurting her, trying to keep her away from me. That doesn’t just go away from me saying sorry.”

“But you _did_ say sorry, and you stopped hurting her, and you stood up for her to Boscha, you literally _broke a bone_ for her. And I know, you’re gonna try to say that you did a lot of that because you felt guilty and wanted to feel better, so it doesn’t count, but you _feel guilty about it.”_

Amity squirmed in place, feeling anxious and itchy.

“I know that I don’t know everything you’ve been through or all the stuff you’ve done, and you’re probably thinking that if I _did_ I’d change my mind, but Amity, _I don’t care_ who you were before, anyway. I care about who you are now.” Luz half stood, reached forward over the table, and touched Amity’s face. Amity let out a tiny gasp of surprise, then felt Luz raise her chin, gently guiding her gaze until their eyes met. Luz smiled at her. “So no. I don’t think you’re a bad person, either.” Luz pulled back and let her hand drop from Amity’s cheek.

Amity caught Luz’s hand.

She stared down at it, holding it between both of her own hands, unable to look up at Luz’s eyes. She felt her heart hammering in her chest so hard she could hear it in her ears. Sweat beaded up on the back of her neck and her throat ran dry. A beat of silence passed with Luz stopped in place, halfway back to sitting down and giving her a questioning look. Thousands of scenarios played out instantly in Amity’s mind along two pathways, and she felt paralyzed with indecision, not sure how to act, not sure what to say, feeling frightened, overwhelmed, and completely, utterly powerless.

She had two options. One was a lot. The other was keeping control.

Amity let go.

She squeezed Luz’s hand and smiled. “… I knew I was being silly even _before_ it happened,” she said. “I knew it wouldn’t have actually happened that way. I knew that it getting torn up wasn’t real.” She squeezed again and then let Luz’s hand slip between her fingers.

Luz held her hand up for a moment, then slowly stepped back and sat down again, one eyebrow raised. “… What are we talking about right now?” she asked.

“You’re too kind to do that to anyone, and I already knew, deep down, that you wouldn’t have done that to me. I was really just frightened of letting my guard down, even for a moment. There’s no way you would have torn up the note the way Grom did.” She raised her head and met Luz’s eyes. “You were who I was going to ask to Grom, Luz. That note was for you.”

Luz’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open in a small, silent, _‘oh.’_ She snapped her jaw shut, and a confused rush of emotions and reactions passed over her face in the space of a few seconds, before she squeaked out, _“Me?”_

“I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now, I just … didn’t know how. And it felt like if I didn’t do it now, I might never be able to do it again. It’s … it’s okay if you just want to be friends, I just—”

“So, like, what do witches normally do for dates here?” Luz said, talking over her. “For, like, a first one? If it was in the human realm I’d take you for coffee or something, but I haven’t even _seen_ anything like a weird demon knock-off of Starbucks.”

Amity’s eyebrows shot up as she processed what Luz said, half surprised she hadn’t heard the phrase, ‘as friends,’ anywhere, and a small, hopeful smile pulled at her mouth. “Are … do you want …?”

Luz shot back a puzzled expression. “To go out with you? I mean, yeah, sure. Oh. I guess I didn’t say that, huh? Sorry, yeah, I’ll go out with you! It just seemed … I mean, I dunno, I was just saying how great I think you are, of course I’ll give dating you a shot. So where do witches go out together?”

Amity felt a pang of vertigo for a moment and shook her head to clear it. “Um …” She shook her head again. “Uh … a pastry shop is the cliché first date, I guess …” She rubbed her face and sat back up, searching Luz’s face carefully. “Sorry, I’m just … is … I honestly don’t know what sort of reaction I was expecting, but you still surprised me.”

Luz gave her a shy smile and pulled the kitty hood over her head, tightening the straps around her face. “Ugh, sorry, I’m probably being awkward and weird, nobody’s ever asked me out before, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”

Amity felt a laugh bubble its way out of her, dissolving a pit in her stomach she’d been carrying around for weeks, and she shook her head. “Oh, Titan, you think _you’re_ the one of us who’s being awkward and weird? It’s _definitely_ me, you’re fine.” Luz grinned back at her, still scrunched up in her hoodie. Amity took a steadying breath and shook her head. “I guess I just probably think about these things differently is all. I think about them _too much._ Your way’s probably better.”

Luz shrugged and dropped her hoodie’s pull chords, letting the hood slowly puff back out. “I dunno, I guess I just think that I already know that we get along really well, and plus you’re cute, so, like, if you want to go out we should try going out and see if we both like it? Is there something I should be thinking about that I’m not?”

“No, no, your way is _so_ muchbetter than mine,” Amity said, the giggles starting to break their way free. “Oh, Titan, look at me, driving myself insane worrying about looking weak for two seconds, and you just say _sure.”_ She buried her face in her hands and smothered her laughter. She sat up and smoothed her hair back, grinning at Luz. Luz’s returned smile still looked shy and reserved, but genuine. “Have you been to Desmond’s Demonic Doughnuts yet?”

Luz shook her head.

“We could go after school if you’d like. They have cherry danishes that are milk-free, Ed swears by them.”

“Sounds awesome. It’s a date”

“Yeah,” Amity said, feeling light-headed. “A date.” Her cheeks ached from smiling, and a rush of exhilaration and nerves flooded her. For a moment she felt thankful for her broken bone since it meant she couldn’t run out of the room. “… Sorry, I … never thought I’d get this far and have no idea what to do or say now.”

“Oh, good, it isn’t just me, then.”

They both stared at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. The last bit of Amity’s tension and anxiety melted away in the mirth, and as she and Luz slowly regained composure, she felt the lack of weight on her shoulders, the absence of a distance between them, no fears or feelings to keep in check, she could just be around Luz and be herself. She slipped her cast gently off the chest and to the floor, standing up with her weight braced against the wall.

Luz jumped up, cutting the tail end of her laughter short, looking concerned. “Amity, what—?” As she came around the table to help, Amity pulled her into a hug.

“You’re the best, Luz,” she whispered. “I’m so glad I met you, I’m so glad you _came_ here.”

Luz returned the hug tightly. “… I’m glad, too,” she said, her voice small, with a tinge of sadness. “Part of me wishes I wasn’t so glad, but I am.”

After a moment Amity pulled back enough to look Luz in the eyes, still with her arms around Luz’s shoulders. “I promise I’ll do everything that I can to help you get back to your mom. I … think Eda’s probably the closest thing the Boiling Isles has to an _expert_ on portals to the human realm, but my family has a lot of rare books. If there’s anything we can find, I promise we’ll find it.” She reached up, hesitated for a moment, then touched Luz’s cheek. “And if you ever just need to talk about it, I’ll always listen, too.”

“Thanks, Amity, _you’re_ the best,” Luz said, pulling her into another hug. Amity returned it. Luz stepped back and they let each other go. “And I’ll probably take you up on that, because if you’re this great _before_ we were even girlfriends, I feel like we’re gonna have a _lot_ of time to talk together now that we are.”

Amity flushed and smiled. “Girlfriends?” she asked quietly. “I thought we were going to see if we both liked it first.”

“Well, I’ve had, like, five minutes to think about it now, and …” Luz mocked a frown and put her hand on her chin, nodding in deep thought. “Yep, definitely like it already. You’re _really cute_ when you laugh and I’ve been feeling like we blew up fifty Groms ever since you mentioned cherry danishes, so it seems stupid to _wait and find out_ anymore.” She grasped Amity’s hands and held both of them. “That okay?”

“Yeah. It’s definitely okay.” She squeezed Luz’s hands and got a squeeze back.

“Good. That’s—” she slipped a hand free and covered her mouth to stifle a yawn, then shook her head. “—settled then.”

Amity’s smile turned shy and she brushed her hair away from her cheek as she looked out the window. “It’s getting late, and you’ve had a _really long_ day today, I should probably go and let you get some rest.” She braced up against the wall and took a short step out into the room, keeping the weight off her cast.

Luz shot to her side and hugged around her middle before she could take another step. “Amity, you can’t walk home like this, you shouldn’t have walked over here in the first place. I’ll help walk you home.”

Amity felt a jolt run up her leg and she hid her wince. “The tingling from the potion’s almost all the way gone, so it’ll be easier getting home than it was getting here, and I _did_ get here. I’ll be okay.”

“Amity, there is _no way_ I’m letting my wounded warrior girlfriend walk home on a broken leg in the middle of the night through the Boiling Isles, so stop even arguing with me.”

“Well, there’s _no way_ I’m letting my exhausted girlfriend who had a horrible day half-carry me all the way home and then have to walk home by herself even _later_ in the night through the Boiling Isles, either.”

Luz pulled her door open as they got to it, and helped Amity over the threshold. “Yeah, okay, fair, but I’m sure Eda will let me borrow Owlbert. I’d, um …” her voice wavered and grew nervous. “I’d invite you to just _stay,_ but …”

Amity felt her blood pressure spike and she cleared her throat. “No, no, I’m sure you’ve got a ton of stuff on your mind and need some time to yourself, too, plus I’m supposed to be on bed rest and my parents will _kill_ me if they find out I was away from home all night, and those are both very good reasons why I can’t just stay so we don’t even need to talk about staying the night together on the first day we started going out and why am I still talking?” She clacked her teeth shut and held her breath.

Luz snickered at her and squeezed her around the waist in-between steps. “Yeah, that’s definitely, like, a third or fourth date sorta thing.” She winked, sending Amity’s pulse back into her ears. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Listen, we’ll figure all this sorta stuff out together, okay?” They got to the top of the stairs, and she turned and lifted Amity up in her arms.

Amity wrapped her hands around Luz’s neck, let out a long breath, and nodded. “Okay.” As they went down the stairs, she felt a guilty smile fight its way out. “Knowing that you can just pick me up like this, erm …” she coughed and hid her face. “It’s attractive.”

“Oh, wow, is that you flirting, Blight?” Luz teased, though Amity could see spots of pink rise on her cheeks. “Don’t be too impressed, you barely weigh anything.”

“Don’t tell me that’s _you_ flirting, now, is it?”

“Nah. Me flirting is saying something like the first time I ever heard you laugh I knew I’d do anything to hear it again.”

Amity tightened her grip on Luz’s neck and hid her face again. _“Luz.”_

“It was when we were stuck in that book in the library, do you remember? We’d just gotten away from Otabin and you were asking me what my plan was, and I didn’t have one. It was the first time I heard you laugh.”

“… I remember. It was the first time I’d felt like laughing for real in a long time.” She ran her hand up the back of Luz’s neck and through Luz’s hair. She felt Luz shiver. “If this is how you flirt, it is extremely effective.”

“What can I say? I’m a charmer.” They stepped into the living room and she slowly righted Amity on her feet, next to the threshold so Amity could lean. “Be right back, I’m gonna go borrow Owlbert.”

Amity grabbed Luz’s hand as she turned. “Luz, wait.” Luz paused and turned back, raising an eyebrow. “I … I just want you to know that I really meant it when I said I’d do what I can to help you find a way back to the human realm. I know that what happened tonight kind of … went sideways from how it started out.”

Luz chuckled. “I’ll say.”

“But this doesn’t change anything, I promise I’ll help, even if you _do_ want to go back and stay there. I know you’ll at least visit. I just want you to be happy, that’s all that’s important to me.”

With a smile, Luz squeezed Amity’s hand. “I know that, Amity, but thanks for saying it. I want you to be happy, too. We’ll figure out ways to be happy together, okay?”

Amity returned the smile and nodded.

“And us figuring out a new portal will make _both_ of us happy for sure,” she continued, letting Amity’s hand slip free and heading toward the kitchen. “We’ll need a way back if we’re ever going to get any chocolate again.” She stepped out of the room.

Amity’s eyes widened. They needed a new portal as soon as possible.

Amity held silent on their flight back, holding onto her crutch with one hand and Luz’s waist with the other. They passed over the silent, darkened forest and she watched the treetops rush by below them, feeling the crisp air on her face and Luz’s back against her chest. She smiled into Luz’s shoulder.

Rounding the outskirts of Bonesborough, Amity’s home came into view in the distance, and she let out a sigh, wishing the flight could be just a little bit longer. She shook her head and said, “My bedroom window’s the second floor one on the left side of the house. Maybe there’s a chance I can sneak in and save getting yelled at for leaving until the morning.”

“Ugh, sorry,” Luz said, aiming Owlbert off to the side of the mansion.

“It’s okay. Me coming over tonight seems like it was _definitely_ worth getting yelled at for being irresponsible with my leg, there is _no way_ I’d do it differently if I could do it all over again.”

Luz chuckled. “Good.”

They slowed as they approached Amity’s window, and Amity carefully reached out and pulled the glass open. They flew into the room and touched down. As Luz helped her off the staff, Amity looked around her bedroom. “Huh. My parents usually go through my things when they’re expecting me to be here and I’m not, in case I left a note. It doesn’t look like they touched anything.”

“Well, they left _you_ one,” Luz said, picking up a scrap of paper from the bedside table and handing it over to Amity. “And nobody touched anything in here? You’re way messier than I expected you to be, Blight.”

“Oh, shut up, I’ve been stuck on bed rest for days.” Amity gave Luz a mock glare, then flipped open the note and saw a crude drawing of Emira and Edric giving a thumb’s up. All it said was, ‘Got you covered, Mittens.’ Amity smiled and showed Luz.

“Oh, hey, nice, no yelling after all.”

“Yeah. They were watching the news, too, they must have figured out what happened and made our parents think I was still here.” Her tone dropped and grew thoughtful, looking out over the room. “That was really cool of them.” She shook her head, then smiled at Luz. “Thanks for taking me home.”

“Oh, psh,” Luz said, waving her off. “Happy to.” She glanced around the room, frowned, and headed to Amity’s bed. “Where’s this stuff go?” she said, hefting a pile of Amity’s finished homework.

Amity raised her eyebrows. “Luz, you don’t have to clean up my mess.”

“You’re right, I _don’t_ have to. Where’s it go, on your desk?” Luz walked the collection of books and pages over and set it down in a neat stack.

“Really, it’s fine, I can—”

“Sleep in a pile of your own filth? I don’t doubt it.” Luz winked and grabbed another pile. “Look, this is happening, so just let it happen, tell me where to put stuff.”

Amity sighed and pointed at her desk. “Well, I guess I can say I appreciate it. I _am_ exhausted and want to just go to sleep. Not that I should be complaining, I bet you’ve got it worse than me.”

“I’m still okay, but yeah, probably gonna crash when I get home pretty quick. I think I’m going to record a message for my mom first, though. I want to try and explain to her everything that’s happening with me, so if I ever _do_ get back I’ll at least have a record of it, or something.” She paused with a stack of books halfway across the room and let out a heavy breath, looking away from Amity. “Isn’t so scary to tell her the truth when I know I can’t actually send it to her, I guess.”

“Don’t think of it that way, Luz. Putting it off when you knew it was for just the summer is different from putting it off when you don’t know when you’ll be getting back—”

 _“If_ I’ll be getting back,” Luz corrected, still looking away.

 _“When_ you’ll be getting back. It made sense, then the situation changed, so you’re changing what you’re doing.” Amity shrugged and gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re doing the best you can, Luz.”

She let out another sigh. “I guess you’re right. I just … wish things were different than they were.”

“That is _entirely_ reasonable.”

Luz smiled and shook her head, then took her armful of books to Amity’s desk. “You don’t mind if I save telling her about _us_ until some time _after_ the first one I record, do you? She’d have a big enough heart attack as it is, my mom doesn’t even know that I like girls.”

Amity giggled. “I definitely don’t mind. You don’t mind if I don’t tell Em and Ed until after they’ve graduated and moved out of the house, do you?” Luz snickered as she put the last of Amity’s stuff away and crossed back over to where Amity waited. “Ugh, you’re right, I can’t get away with that, but they’re going to be _impossible …”_

Luz kept giggling as she maneuvered Amity to where she’d be able to sit down on the bed, then fetched the crutch from by the window, leaning it up against the bedside table. She stood in front of Amity, smiling, and a beat of silence fell over the room as they looked at each other.

“… I …” Amity furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. “Um … this feels like the wrong thing to say, but … thank you? For tonight. I … had a really great time with you, despite … the mountain of totally awful things you told me about. This is weird what I’m doing right now, I should stop.”

Luz laughed and rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t worry, I get it. I had a great time with you, too. I didn’t really know how much I needed to talk all that stuff out with someone, but I feel _so_ muchbetter now, so you coming really helped. Also, I got a girlfriend out of it, so score.” She held both of Amity’s hands and they stood looking at each other. “… I’m still totally up for Demon Doughnuts or whatever, but it’s kinda hard to call doing that our _first_ date, y’know?”

Amity smiled. “Yeah, I do. Thank you, Luz.”

“Thank _you,_ Amity.”

They stood smiling at each other and a beat of silence stretched out. Amity knew the next thing she was supposed to say, she was supposed to tell Luz to have a good night and say goodbye, but she knew that would end it and the moment would be over. She didn’t want the moment to be over. It didn’t look to her like Luz wanted it to be, either. Luz let go of one of her hands and touched her cheek. Amity ran her freed hand into Luz’s hair. Luz stepped closer.

Their lips met.

Amity closed her eyes and melted into Luz’s chest, savoring the closeness. She could feel Luz’s heartbeat hammering against her, just as frantic as her own, and she could sense Luz shiver with the same nervous, giddy energy she felt in her chest. The kiss was soft and simple, and lingered as they pressed into each other. Slowly, reluctantly, Luz pulled away.

Amity smiled, feeling flushed and out of breath. “Good night, Luz.”

“Sweet dreams, querida.” Luz stepped backwards without looking away from Amity, heading back to Owlbert, who was politely facing the other direction. “See you tomorrow?”

“Definitely.” She watched Luz slip through the window and push it shut. As Luz flew off back in the direction of the Owl House, she pumped a fist in victory, and Amity grinned and shook her head. The last of her energy fading, she sat down on the edge of her bed and let out a long, exhausted, happy sigh. Despite everything, her leg still ached, and with the last bit of adrenaline gone, she couldn’t fathom trying to get changed into pajamas. She kicked off her shoe and wormed her way under the sheets.

Amity closed her eyes and let sleep settle over her. As she drifted off, she felt wildly, wonderfully, blissfully out of control. It was a feeling she could get used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, folks! So this is the first bit of The Owl House fanfic that I’ve written ever and the first thing I’ve posted to AO3, though I’ve been writing fanfic semi-regularly for homing in on a decade. If you were at any point involved in the My Little Pony: FiM fandom there is a slim chance you might recognize me. Anyhoo, since finishing the first season of The Owl House in a rushed fever dream of a weekend, I have been obsessed to a borderline obscene level. I love everything about this show, its setting, and its characters, and I plan on exploring it all in fanfic for a while.
> 
> This story comes out of my initial thoughts about the season one finale and the overall direction and development of character relationships it delved into. I wanted to explore a relationship that has been burning at the core of the main Hexside crew, but as of yet hasn’t had a solid resolution in the show and needed a nudge in the right direction. Oh, and also a bunch of Lumity, because of course. Wait, did you think I was talking about the Lumity? Bah, those sweet beans would figure it out for themselves without my help, it’s Amity and Willow that I needed to make sit down and hash it out.
> 
> I had a great time writing this, and I thank you deeply for taking the time to read it.
> 
> This story was originally published on [Offprint,](https://offprint.net/prose/IwYiqrs0Z/keeping-control) a new fiction-sharing site that’s still in alpha, on December 30, 2020. I will be posting all my The Owl House stories to Offprint as a one week exclusive before crossposting. If you read and enjoyed Keeping Control and want to catch future projects of mine when they first get released, consider joining Offprint and keeping tabs on me there. No pressure, though, all stories will be crossposted here after the week.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, folks! So this is the first bit of The Owl House fanfic that I’ve written ever and the first thing I’ve posted to AO3, though I’ve been writing fanfic semi-regularly for homing in on a decade. If you were at any point involved in the My Little Pony: FiM fandom there is a slim chance you might recognize me. Anyhoo, since finishing the first season of The Owl House in a rushed fever dream of a weekend, I have been obsessed to a borderline obscene level. I love everything about this show, its setting, and its characters, and I plan on exploring it all in fanfic for a while.
> 
> This story comes out of my initial thoughts about the season one finale and the overall direction and development of character relationships it delved into. I wanted to explore a relationship that has been burning at the core of the main Hexside crew, but as of yet hasn’t had a solid resolution in the show and needed a nudge in the right direction. Oh, and also a bunch of Lumity, because of course. Wait, did you think I was talking about the Lumity? Bah, those sweet beans would figure it out for themselves without my help, it’s Amity and Willow that I needed to make sit down and hash it out.
> 
> I had a great time writing this, and I thank you deeply for taking the time to read it.
> 
> This story was originally published on [Offprint,](https://offprint.net/prose/IwYiqrs0Z/keeping-control) a new fiction-sharing site that’s still in alpha, on December 30, 2020. I will be posting all my The Owl House stories to Offprint as a one week exclusive before crossposting. If you read and enjoyed Keeping Control and want to catch future projects of mine when they first get released, consider joining Offprint and keeping tabs on me there. No pressure, though, all stories will be crossposted here after the week.


End file.
